E-commerce Websites ? How To Make It A Success?

Success for Top ecommerce agencies is perhaps more essential than any other website because the whole revenue stream depends on the online medium. With the increasing competition in cyberspace, it has become very difficult to get your website noticed and establish a loyal customer base. Here are some things you should always keep in mind.

Design for the Customers, Not for Yourself!

This is perhaps the most common mistake made by website designers even unconsciously. It is natural for a designer to create designs and elements that pleases their aesthetic eye and does justice to their caliber. However, designers should remember that their designs would be viewed by the industry audiences and prospective customers and they way they are made to feel on the website will decide if they will make a purchase or not.

Therefore, always keep the needs and preferences of your target audience in mind while designing your website. It is important to offer customized solutions for specific demographics to make sure they are convinced.

Build Brand Identity through User Experience

If you want to gain a loyal and forgiving customer base, you need to build your brand loyalty. And the only way you can achieve this is by pro0viding them with a rich user experience on the website. User experience is a perfect combination of several factors like usability, design and layout, website content, psychology and site metrics.

Only when you have good user experience can you establish a strong brand image. And UX is something that needs to be incorporated in every aspect of the site. Here are some tips for the same.

While designing Product Description pages, make sure your provide all the information users needs clearly and smartly. You can include ‘no-click’ alternate images or provide a zoom option to make viewing easier for the visitors.

Make sure the checkout process has as few steps as can be. This is because customers are in a hurry to complete the process.

Inform your customers about your security settings and privacy policies so that they feel safe and trust you.

Create Quality Content

‘Content is the king!’ No matter how old this adage is, it stands true for all web presences. In order to convince your visitors to make a purchase you need to offer them compelling content about the products. Remember, the key is in telling your audiences how they can benefit from using your products instead of blatantly applauding your offerings.

Work for Social Media Optimization

In order to foster a successful online presence, you need to engage with your audience base and communicate with them effectively. Social media websites offer an excellent opportunities for companies to establish their presence there and engage in direct interactions with their audiences.

Social media websites have a huge active user base which you can use to promote yourself. Websites like Delicious, Digg, StumbleUpon etc. allow users to add your website or product page to their profiles which can be further shared in the network.

Influence Audiences with Colors and Themes

Color schemes go a long way in impacting the psychologies of users and influencing the way they behave on the website. With the right combination of colors you can make visitors feel comfortable on the website and boost the chances of them making a purchase.

Software Scams –to Cheap To Be True?

I’m sure that you have received an email stating that you can purchase name brand software cheap. As a matter of fact, I received such an email the other day. They call this type of software OEM software. But is it legal? And most important, how can you spot a software scam?

Software Scams

These are some of the “sounds too good to be true” warning signs:

Prices are below most reputable online sellers — such as .

If the webmaster is telling you the reasons why they are legal — may not be.

If there is a statement that says “you give up the right for a chargeback” (chargeback — a return of the product, and thus, the return of your money to your pocket). Or, here is a really scary statement that they may have in small print — that they can counter-sue you for any chargebacks you may put into action against them.

If you have to use a special number — no not the registration number — more than likely it is an illegal version.

Registration — sellers says the software cannot be registered.

No warranty offered.

These are the obvious signs that this software could be illegal. Always take the time too look at “Whois” to see how long a retailer has been online: 1) less than a year — first warning sign 2) only has an IP address with no name, address, etc. — second warning sign.

What If I Get It Anyway?

Maybe you’re saying to yourself, “Surely it can’t hurt. And it’s so cheap!” That’s the draw. But it can open you to some of the following problems: 1) Credit Card scam

2) No technical support

3) No manuals

4) Software is basically a “what you see is what you get”. You got it, no upgrades.

5) The software could have a virus installed with the software. As a matter of fact, illegal software has been one major source for causing damage to computer systems and data.

Example of possible virus download: An individual worker found a Pacman game (though not illegal to obtain) on the Internet while surfing the net at home and decided to download the game onto a floppy to play it at work during the slow times. Just as an added bonus to his benign neglect, he didn’t do a virus check on the floppy to make sure the game was clean.

He took it to work, popped the floppy into his hard-drive and blindly downloaded the game to play it at his leisure. Low and behold — Pacman game came with Pacman virus. That happy little critter slowly began to eat away at the hard-drive. Results of his actions, downtime and lost productivity for the company. Worker — a week of lost wages for the indiscretion.

6) You could face penalties for using illegal software — which can be significant.

When is it not illegal?

Oem software is illegal when it is not used according to the software license agreement.

In most cases, OEM software is legal when it is distributed with specified accompanying hardware. If the OEM software is legitimate, don’t expect user manuals, original retail packaging of the software, or the technical support that is usually provided by the hardware provider.

Where to Report Software Piracy

You can report any software piracy issues to the BSA () — Business Software Alliance.

On the Internet, temptations are everywhere, so it’s important to learn what is legal and what is not, so you can protect yourself, your data, or your business.